Gremio Takes a Sick Day
by Miyozuki Friidomo
Summary: This might help you appreciate Gremio's subtle chores.


Gremio Takes a Sick Day  
-----------------------  
  
Gremio rolled over on his bed at Toran Lake Castle. His face was flushed, and he was  
sweating profusely.   
  
"Must... do the laundry... and cook the supper... and... ugh..."  
  
Liukan, the wise old healer, felt Gremio's forehead, frowning deeply.   
  
"He has a fever. It's not too serious... but he'll need to rest all day."  
  
At this, the young master of the castle, McDohl, and his second-in-command, Flik,   
looked distraught.  
  
"But... but... I need my bandanna washed!" said Flik with a worried frown.  
  
"Tough. Wash it yourself, lazy bones. You get laundry duty." replied Liukan.  
  
"Dammit. Why me." muttered Flik with a roll of his eyes.  
  
*************************************...A few hours later...************************************  
  
"Stupid... damned... grass stains!"   
  
Flik was crouching outside the castle, near the shores of the lake, soaking his bandanna  
in the freezing waters of Lake Toran, along with a thick bunch of soap foaming in the water.   
He doesn't look too happy.  
  
"Honestly, how does Gremio do all these chores we've divided up? I mean, does he have   
some kind of metho-"   
  
He never finished the sentence. As he shifted in place a little, he slipped on a wet rock  
and fell face first into the frothy, soapy water. Coming back up with a gasp, a foamy beard (and  
no little amount of cursing), Flik tosses his bandanna onto the rocks, gritting his teeth.  
  
"The hell! At least McDohl gets it easy, all he's doing is washing dishes! Why'd I get  
stuck with laundry duty?!"  
  
****************************************...Meanwhile...*****************************************  
  
"What are you doing, young master McDohl?!" shrieked the portly woman, Marie.  
  
She had good reason to be screaming. McDohl's new duty as washer of dishes didn't seem  
to be working very well. Terrible, in fact. Shattered dishes, cups, and bowls, as well as dented  
pots and pans, and even bent silverware, lie strewn about the kitchen. Barely any of it was even  
in the sink, seeming to have found residence in the floor.  
  
"Young master, Gremio's the one who washes dishes! Why are you here?" asked Marie,   
calming down (somewhat).   
  
He didn't answer, seeming fairly occupied with keeping the last living dish in one piece,  
as he scrubbed it with a dishrag. He seemed to be doing fairly well, until his grasp slipped on  
the dish. He tried clumsily to catch it in midair, but ended up only slipping and falling on the  
floor on his backside, the dish shattering nearby.  
  
Marie screamed with shock. It WAS her favorite dish he just broke.  
  
"What's next, is Tai-Ho in charge of cleaning the outhouses or something?!" she shrieked.  
  
****************************************...Elsewhere...*****************************************  
  
"Okay... what do I do now... hmm."   
  
Tai Ho rubbed his bearded chin thoughtfully, as he stood within the dank, dark depths of   
the outhouse nestled within the docks of Toran Castle.  
  
"Sheesh, Gremio made this look so easy when I saw him from the boat. I don't even   
remember him having to climb in here."  
  
"Bro, I'm pretty sure we're lost down here." said Yam Koo quietly next to him, peering  
around in vain.  
  
"Oh come now, Yam Koo. You know I have a better sense of direction than to be baffled by  
THIS fecal labyrinth." Tai Ho replied with a smirk.  
  
"Uhh... then which way do we go to get out of here?" inquired Yam Koo.  
  
"Uhh... that way." answered Tai Ho.  
  
"Bro, I can't see where you're pointing. It's pitch black in here."  
  
"Oh. So it is. I can't see which way I'm pointing, either. Maybe I should use one of the  
torches I brought down here with me."  
  
With that said, Tai Ho lit a torch, light immediately shaping the tunnel around them.  
  
Yam Koo fixed Tai Ho with an icy stare. "Bro..."  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Why didn't you tell me you had torches?"  
  
"You never asked."  
  
"Oh geez..." Yam Koo rolled his eyes heavenward, sighing.  
  
Tai Ho patted Yam Koo's back heartily, grinning. "Oh don't worry about it. Now that we   
have light, we can get out of here. Besides, this is much more fun than Viktor's job."  
  
"You think that getting lost in the castle's sewers is more fun than cooking?"  
  
"We're not lost."  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"I think so. Hey, that looks like a mackerel..."  
  
**************************************...Still elsewhere...*************************************  
  
"You idiot!" exclaimed Lester, his face flushing in fury. "You stupid, bird-brained  
buffoon!"  
  
"What? What'd I do?" asked Viktor, his broad face looking clearly confused (under the  
layer of icing he was wearing, that is).  
  
"You weren't supposed to eat the icing! That goes on the CAKE!" screamed Lester, his  
face turning an even deeper shade of red.  
  
"But... but I was hungry. Don't we have more icing?"  
  
"We should, but that idiot Stallion hasn't come back from the store down the lake yet!  
What the hell could he be doing, Gremio had no trouble getting down the road, and Stallion's  
twice as fast as him!"  
  
"Maybe he-" started Viktor, but stopped with a loud belch.   
  
Lester said nothing, his glare was much more meaningful than words.  
  
*************************************...Even more elsewhere...**********************************  
  
THUMP!  
  
Stallion hit yet another closed door, fumbling against it, feeling for the doorknob with  
a grumble.  
  
"Knew I shouldn't have...hic!...had that second bottle of wine...stupid...hic!...  
Kirkis..."  
  
He had wandered around the castle for hours, trying to find the way to the harbor, so he  
could take a boat to the lake town Kuku.   
  
"And...and to think...hic!...I thought being drunk would...would...hic!...make the trip  
more challenging for...for my feet...hic!" mumbled Stallion to himself, as he came to a soft   
wooden door, opening it and stumbling through...  
  
...Straight into the girls' bath.  
  
"Oops...hic!...sorry ladie..." trailed off Stallion, realizing he was staring at Cleo,   
Kasumi and Jeanne, who were staring back at him, though with not quite the same admiration.  
  
"PERVERT!" They screamed in unison, tossing urns and plants at him.  
  
"Ugh...ow!...sorry...sorr-ow!...I'm leaving!...OW! I said...hic!...I'm leaving! Ow ow   
ow!" exclaimed Stallion in his drunken, slurred speech as he stumbled back out into the main  
hallway, a bonsai bush stuck to the side of his head.  
  
***************************************...Later that night...***********************************  
  
Liukan felt Gremio's forehead.  
  
"Good, good. Your fever has broken." said Liukan.  
  
"...So quiet...where is everyone...?" asked Gremio quietly, tiredly.  
  
Liukan furrowed his brow.  
  
"...I have no idea," he finally replied, looking perplexed. "They were all making such  
a loud racket until a few hours ago, I wonder what could have happened."  
  
"...Maybe they've gone to bed early..." said Gremio, closing his eyes.  
  
"Perhaps. But you, at least, should do that. You should be fine by tomorrow morning, if   
you get a good night's sleep." said Liukan, walking to his room and shutting the door.  
  
Gremio fell asleep as soon as the door closed.  
  
***************************************...The next day...***************************************  
  
Gremio smiled brightly, walking out of his room.  
  
"I feel alive again!" he said, smiling widely...  
  
...To an empty dining hall.  
  
"Now where is everyone?" mumbled Gremio, frowning. "I wanted to make my specialty   
pancakes to thank them for taking over my chores yesterday."  
  
Gremio looked out a window, and his eyes widened.  
  
Outside, everyone was in a mass argument. There was shouting, hitting, and all that   
accompanies a riot.  
  
With a flash, Cleo used her Fireball spell.   
  
The riot fell silent, as did the participants. Everyone fell to the ground, burnt to a  
crisp. Even Cleo, since her spell was meant to be used farther away from the targets.  
  
"Well..." said Gremio, chuckling to himself. "I'd call that a spelling error. Guess no  
one will want pancakes today."  
  
Suddenly, the vent in the ceiling fell to the floor with a crash, Tai Ho and Yam Koo   
tumbling down soon after.  
  
"Olli-Olli-Oxen-Free!" Shouted Tai Ho, grinning. "Did someone mention pancakes?"  
  
Yam Koo just rolled his eyes.  
  
*******************************************THE END********************************************** 


End file.
